Working document on possible requirements for a horizontal ...



Working document for a possible Commission delegated regulation on online energy labelling of energy-related products

-Explanatory notes-

Rationale

This working document proposes horizontal requirements for the labelling and the provision of supplementary product information online for products labelled under Directive 2010/30/EU (furthermore "Directive"). It proposes to specify uniform requirements as to the display of labels and fiches online.

Directive 2010/30/EU states that information plays a key role in the operation of market forces and it is therefore necessary to introduce a uniform label for all products of the same type, to provide potential purchasers with supplementary standardised information on those products’ costs in terms of energy and the consumption of other essential resources and to take measures to ensure that potential end-users who do not see the product displayed, and thus have no opportunity to see the label, are also supplied with this information.

The Directive also requires where products are offered for sale, hire or hire-purchase through the Internet, which implies that the potential end-user cannot be expected to see the product displayed, delegated acts should make provision to ensure that potential end-users are provided with the information specified on the label for the product and in the fiche before buying the product. The Directive states that delegated acts can specify the way in which the label or the fiche or the information specified on the label or in the fiche should be displayed or provided to the potential end-user.

The label and the fiche provide information on the consumption of energy and other essential resources during use enabling end-users to make better informed purchasing decisions. The online market is rapidly growing and online information is increasingly used by end-users as the digital literacy of the European consumers improves together with the expansion of the mobile internet device market, therefore it is important to level the online and offline playing field by removing any barriers and disparities.

The Consumer2020[1] study published in 2010 concluded that that at least 70% of discretionary purchases are "pre-searched" online even if the purchase is made offline, therefore savings achieved by energy labelling could be lost if information is not properly displayed in the online environment. The study estimated that putting energy labels online with rules on how the label should be displayed would increase the effectiveness of labelling by 50% meaning that consumers would be inclined to choose more efficient appliances.

A horizontal delegated act specifying uniform requirements as to the display of labels and fiches online would ensure consistent and successful application of the Directive to the online environment implementing its provisions in a proportionate, technologically neutral and future proof way.

Approach

Scope

All products covered by labelling measures under the Directive. Excluded are auction sites and second-hand products.

Information requirements for suppliers

The proposal puts in place requirements for suppliers to supply the energy class, label and fiche to retailers electronically. The suppliers and their representative organisation have already indicated that they can easily comply with this requirement and expressed a general preference to make the information available on a particular "url" on their web sites. Alternative options to an 'url' are however also provided for in the proposal.

Information and display requirements for dealers

The proposal puts in place requirements for dealers in respect of the display of the label and the product fiche. A specific issue for the online environment is the design of the display and presentation order of the energy class, label and fiche. Whilst this is fairly straightforward in an actual store, online customers using for example computers, tablets or smart phones are presented with different display environments. The proposal lays down the details for this, especially with reagrd to sizing and nested displays (illustrations are provided at the end of this doucment).

Market surveillance

In line with the Directive, market surveillance is under the authority of the Member States. Although not specified in the proposal, internet analytic tools could be an element of such market surveillance.

Revision

A five-year time span is proposed taking into account technological progress and the advancement of online sales techniques.

Transitional provision

Online commercial cycles are virtually monthly for the type of e-commerce sites concerned. A six-month transitional window is foreseen for the industry to prepare for the implementation of the proposed delegated act.

Illustrations of Onscreen A-G scale single identifier use

(Examples are purely illustrative.)

Single identifier type use

[pic]

Hyper link activated full label display

[pic]

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